This much-honored PBS documentary series explores American history, one topic or person at a time. Its Peabody Award winners include profiles of FDR and Malcolm X, and such diverse topics as Nixon's 1972 trip to China, the controversy surrounding `Citizen (more…)This much-honored PBS documentary series explores American history, one topic or person at a time. Its Peabody Award winners include profiles of FDR and Malcolm X, and such diverse topics as Nixon's 1972 trip to China, the controversy surrounding `Citizen Kane' when it was released, and the Battle of the Bulge. In addition, its Scottsboro Boys film won an Emmy, and seven entries (including the Scottsboro and Kane films) earned Oscar nominations.

Season 12, Episode 14 Joe DiMaggio: The Hero's Life

First Aired: May 8, 2000

An atmospheric profile of Joe DiMaggio (1914-99), baseball's “Yankee Clipper,” explores how and why he played what narrator (and co-writer) Richard Ben Kramer calls “the hero's game” by projecting---and zealously guarding---an image of effortless elegance on and off the field. On the field, the Yankees won nine World Series in the 13 years he played for them. Off the field, former teammate Jerry Coleman describes DiMaggio's short-lived marriage to Marilyn Monroe this way: “She was the greatest woman in the world and he was the greatest man.”